Historical Mirror for Historians -- Shitong and Chinese Culture

Author: Zeng Fanying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-17
Features:
Second, the historical materials used in ancient historical writing were mostly collected, organized, and classified through government channels, making them very comprehensive and providing great convenience for historical writing. This allowed historians to record a broader range of content when writing history. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the imperial archives in charge of historical writing often required historians to search for and gather original materials themselves, as the relevant archival records and personal accounts were often incomplete. Relying on their own efforts to seek historical materials was difficult to be exhaustive, and it was extremely difficult to consult archival records when discussing historical developments. The lack of various historical materials made it difficult for historians to write substantial historical works.
Third, ancient private historians were all impartial to the court, wrote without concealing the truth, and had no regrets. However, since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the imperial archives for historical writing were secluded deep within the palace, located in the restricted area of the imperial palace. Although this could prevent requests for special treatment and avoid biased writing in history, the archives were often crowded with people, making it hard to keep truthful accounts confidential. Many historians in history were punished by the powerful for writing objectively, suffering tragic consequences of broken families and ruined lives. This taught historians to be cautious and afraid to write truthfully.
Fourth, ancient historians each had their own purposes, specific historical writing styles, and standards for evaluating right and wrong. However, historical writing in imperial archives followed the will of the supervising officials, who were often uneducated. Moreover, the court frequently appointed multiple supervisors, making it difficult to reach a consensus. This led to a situation where many were in charge, causing confusion and making the actual writers unsure of how to proceed. Even over a long period, little achievement was made.
Fifth, the responsibilities of the supervising officials and the writers were unclear. As the name suggests, the supervising officials should oversee all aspects of historical writing, making decisions on matters such as setting the time limits of historical periods, determining the level of detail in narratives, assigning specific tasks to officials, and evaluating the performance of historians. However, in reality, supervising officials had neither the authority nor specific instructions to make decisions. The writers had no principles to follow, leading to historians spending their days idly and accomplishing nothing, with the archives becoming a place for them to receive salaries without contributing.
These opinions profoundly criticized the rigid and corrupt system of supervising officials in imperial archives under feudal dynasties. They specifically explained that under this system, a straightforward and upright historian would find it difficult to achieve anything. It was precisely for this reason that Liu Zhiqi resigned from his position as a historian and began his own path, privately writing Shitong. This was both a wise and helpless choice after enduring many hardships in reality.
The specific time of writing Shitong is not the moment Liu Zhiqi was transferred to the capital to become a historian. According to the records in the New and Old Books of the Tang Dynasty about Liu Zhiqi's experience as a historian and the development of his thoughts, he did not start writing Shitong immediately after being recommended for the position of a historian in the capital in the second year of the Chang'an era (702). When he was recommended for historical writing in the same year, he considered it a sign that he was "valued by the times" and "fit for the job." As a newly appointed historian, Liu Zhiqi should have been pleased, as this would allow him to showcase his talents and fulfill his long-held "beauty aspiration" of becoming a "narrator." It was also a great opportunity for him to advance by writing history, achieving merits, and leaving a name in history. It would have been impossible for him to immediately think of "retiring" to privately write Shitong.
It can be said that the motivation behind Liu Zhiqi writing Shitong was the experience of historical writing in the imperial archives, where he felt that he was "